Friedrichshafen, Germany — On the opening day of Fakuma 2014, Evonik launched a new specialty molding compound that the company designed for automotive glazing applications. Compared with traditional glass, the new material, called Plexiglas Resist AG 100 offers weight savings, freedom of design and the possibility of functional integration - reducing recess depth and assembly costs, said the company. The new compound is the first PMMA specialty molding in the world for this application.  The material, said a spokesman, offers "unparalleled brilliance and clearness."

Plexiglas Resist is impact modified and has up to 30 times the breaking strength of mineral glass. Moreover, the reversible haze that occurs in standard impact-modified products at very high and very low temperatures has been substantially reduced.

Next to conventional glass, however, Plexiglas Resist is also up against polycarbonate in the highly competitive market for automotive glazing. PMMA, says Evonik, offers more than just a price advantage compared to PC, but it also has a number of technical advantages. Unlike PC, which must undergo a two-step coating process to achieve UV and scratch resistance, the new PMMA Resist is inherently resistant to UV light and weathering and therefore requires a single coating only.  "Also driving in the rain is far less noisy with PMMA glazing, compared to the use polycarbonate," said the company.

The material meets all the requirements for automotive glazing, and, importantly, has also undergone and passed all tests to comply with the standards stipulated in the United Nations ECE R43 homologation program.

The new compound is easily processable using all thermoplastic processes, including injection molding, injection compression molding and extrusion with subsequent sheet thermoforming.

And at the end of a car's service life, Plexiglass can be completely recycled and reused in other transparent applications.